Michelle Obama does it again...

Let's say you're preparing dinner and you realize with dismay that you don't have any certified organic Tuscan kale. What to do?

Here's how Michelle Obama handled this very predicament Thursday afternoon:

The Secret Service and the D.C. police brought in three dozen vehicles and shut down H Street, Vermont Avenue, two lanes of I Street and an entrance to the McPherson Square Metro station. They swept the area, in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with bomb-sniffing dogs and installed magnetometers in the middle of the street, put up barricades to keep pedestrians out, and took positions with binoculars atop trucks. Though the produce stand was only a block or so from the White House, the first lady hopped into her armored limousine and pulled into the market amid the wail of sirens.

Then, and only then, could Obama purchase her leafy greens. "Now it's time to buy some food," she told several hundred people who came to watch. "Let's shop!"

Cowbells were rung. Somebody put a lei of marigolds around Obama's neck. The first lady picked up a straw basket and headed for the "Farm at Sunnyside" tent, where she loaded up with organic Asian pears, cherry tomatoes, multicolored potatoes, free-range eggs and, yes, two bunches of Tuscan kale. She left the produce with an aide, who paid the cashier as Obama made her way back to the limousine.

There's nothing like the simple pleasures of a farm stand to return us to our agrarian roots.

The first lady had encouraged Freshfarm Markets, the group that runs popular farmers markets in Dupont Circle and elsewhere, to set up near the White House, and she helped get the approvals to shut down Vermont Avenue during rush hour on Thursdays. But the result was quite the opposite of a quaint farmers market. Considering all the logistics, each tomato she purchased had a carbon footprint of several tons.

The promotion of organic and locally grown food, though an admirable cause, is a risky one for the Obamas, because there's a fine line between promoting healthful eating and sounding like a snob. The president, when he was a candidate in 2007, got in trouble in Iowa when he asked a crowd, "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" Iowans didn't have a Whole Foods.

For that reason, it's probably just as well that the first lady didn't stop by the Endless Summer Harvest tent yesterday. The Virginia farm had a sign offering "tender baby arugula" -- hydroponically grown, pesticide free -- and $5 for four ounces, which is $20 a pound.

Obama, in her brief speech to the vendors and patrons, handled the affordability issue by pointing out that people who pay with food stamps would get double the coupon value at the market. Even then, though, it's hard to imagine somebody using food stamps to buy what the market offered: $19 bison steak from Gunpowder Bison, organic dandelion greens for $12 per pound from Blueberry Hill Vegetables, the Piedmont Reserve cheese from Everson Dairy at $29 a pound. Rounding out the potential shopping cart: $4 for a piece of "walnut dacquoise" from the Praline Bakery, $9 for a jumbo crab cake at Chris's Marketplace, $8 for a loaf of cranberry-walnut bread and $32 for a bolt of yarn.

The first lady said the market would particularly appeal to federal employees in nearby buildings to "pick up some good stuff for dinner." Yet even they might think twice about spending $3 for a pint of potatoes when potatoes are on sale for 40 cents a pound at Giant. They could get nearly five dozen eggs at Giant for the $5 Obama spent for her dozen.

But whatever the socioeconomics, there can be no doubt that Obama brought some serious attention to her cause. Hundreds of people crowded the market entrance on I Street as police directed pedestrians to alternative subway entrances. Hundreds braved a light rain and gave a hearty cheer when Obama and her entourage took the stage. "I can't imagine there's been a day in the history of our country when people have been more excited about farmers markets," Mayor Adrian Fenty, Obama's warm-up act, told the crowd.

The first lady, in gray slacks and blue sweater, marveled that the people were "so pumped up" despite the rain. "I have never seen so many people so excited about fruits and vegetables!" she said. (Must be the tender baby arugula.)

She spoke of the global reach of her cause: "The first thing world leaders, prime ministers, kings, queens ask me about is the White House garden. And then they ask about Bo."

She spoke of the fuel fed to the world's most powerful man: "I've learned that when my family eats fresh food, healthy food, that it really affects how we feel, how we get through the day . . . whether there's a Cabinet meeting or whether we're just walking the dog."

And she spoke of her own culinary efforts: "There are times when putting together a healthy meal is harder than you might imagine."

Particularly when it involves a soundstage, an interpreter for the deaf, three TV satellite trucks and the closing of part of downtown Washington.

You can interpret this article many ways, but I see it as a way to promote healthy foods instead of the pesticide-laced products that are in every grocery store around the country. As for the excesses, that goes with being in the White House. Laura Bush did the exact same kinds of things.

You can interpret this article many ways, but I see it as a way to promote healthy foods instead of the pesticide-laced products that are in every grocery store around the country. As for the excesses, that goes with being in the White House. Laura Bush did the exact same kinds of things.

I agree, as much as I dislike the Obamas', this is actually good practice on her part and the security measures comes with the territory.

What are you talking about? I didn't contradict myself in the least. If anything, the fact that there was no mention of this by the media further demonstrates my point. There is no negative coverage. As I said, the media is "ga ga" over the Obamas.

And yes, it was disgusting.

EDIT: Let me add that I don't view this as something "little." I see it as a reflection of her character.

What are you talking about? I didn't contradict myself in the least. If anything, the fact that there was no mention of this by the media further demonstrates my point. There is no negative coverage. As I said, the media is "ga ga" over the Obamas.

And yes, it was disgusting.

EDIT: Let me add that I don't view this as something "little." I see it as a reflection of her character.

It was a joke, but that may have been lost. I'm not going to elaborate much further, and will only say you were complaining about the media toiling in the minutia of "Obamaness"; and then, as a grown man, on a bodybuilding board, you complained about a dress Michelle Obama wore. If you can't appreciate good irony when you see it, then your problems are greater than this thread!

It was a joke, but that may have been lost. I'm not going to elaborate much further, and will only say you were complaining about the media toiling in the minutia of "Obamaness"; and then, as a grown man, on a bodybuilding board, you complained about a dress Michelle Obama wore. If you can't appreciate good irony when you see it, then your problems are greater than this thread!

Ironic? I believe you're purposely neglecting to acknowledge the original point. I see where you're coming from, but it's not a simple matter of fashion. I didn't say, "OMG, I can't believe she wore D&G instead of Versace!" Had that been the case, then you would have been correct; Alanis Morissette might have even rewritten the song Ironic to make mention of the whole thing.

As a Marine, and a combat veteran, I complained (in the political section of a forum) that she wore such an outfit to a Medal of Honor ceremony. It demonstrates that the woman blatantly placed her priority of being fashionable over paying proper respect to a deceased recipient of the Medal of Honor. IMO, that is not a trivial matter.
I don't expect you to see this as I do; however, there is no need to make this personal. My experience with this forum leads me to believe you're an intelligent man, and I respect that. We may not see eye to eye on this, but let's just leave it at that.

Agree to disagree...

EDIT: I'll admit that I actually laughed a little when I looked at my original post from your point of view. I understand where you're coming from, but it seemed as though you had some ulterior motive when you commented on my post.

Ironic? I believe you're purposely neglecting to acknowledge the original point. I see where you're coming from, but it's not a simple matter of fashion. I didn't say, "OMG, I can't believe she wore D&G instead of Versace!" Had that been the case, then you would have been correct; Alanis Morissette might have even rewritten the song Ironic to make mention of the whole thing.

As a Marine, and a combat veteran, I complained (in the political section of a forum) that she wore such an outfit to a Medal of Honor ceremony. It demonstrates that the woman blatantly placed her priority of being fashionable over paying proper respect to a deceased recipient of the Medal of Honor. IMO, that is not a trivial matter.
I don't expect you to see this as I do; however, there is no need to make this personal. My experience with this forum leads me to believe you're an intelligent man, and I respect that. We may not see eye to eye on this, but let's just leave it at that.

Agree to disagree...

EDIT: I'll admit that I actually laughed a little when I looked at my original post from your point of view. I understand where you're coming from, but it seemed as though you had some ulterior motive when you commented on my post.

If your analysis of my comment ran that deep, than a break from the Politics forum would do your sense of humor well! Relax!

Ironic? I believe you're purposely neglecting to acknowledge the original point. I see where you're coming from, but it's not a simple matter of fashion. I didn't say, "OMG, I can't believe she wore D&G instead of Versace!" Had that been the case, then you would have been correct; Alanis Morissette might have even rewritten the song Ironic to make mention of the whole thing.

As a Marine, and a combat veteran, I complained (in the political section of a forum) that she wore such an outfit to a Medal of Honor ceremony. It demonstrates that the woman blatantly placed her priority of being fashionable over paying proper respect to a deceased recipient of the Medal of Honor. IMO, that is not a trivial matter.
I don't expect you to see this as I do; however, there is no need to make this personal. My experience with this forum leads me to believe you're an intelligent man, and I respect that. We may not see eye to eye on this, but let's just leave it at that.

Agree to disagree...

EDIT: I'll admit that I actually laughed a little when I looked at my original post from your point of view. I understand where you're coming from, but it seemed as though you had some ulterior motive when you commented on my post.

I'm with mullet, you can't complain about over-analysis and an obsession with fashion and then do EXACTLY the same thing and not see the irony. & what exactly would have been appropriate anyway? Khakis? She was hardly dressed in a two piece bikini bud.

For what it's worth I think you deserve a purple-heart for the sand you obviously got in your vagina while watching the Medal of Honor ceremony on Fox.

I'm with mullet, you can't complain about over-analysis and an obsession with fashion and then do EXACTLY the same thing and not see the irony. & what exactly would have been appropriate anyway? Khakis? She was hardly dressed in a two piece bikini bud.

EXACTLY the same thing? I didn't complain about "obsession with fashion" as you put it. Let's not be manipulative. I did bring up the fact that the media promotes "Obamamania." I don't care what the Obamas eat, read, like, dislike, etc. The vast majority of the coverage concerning the Obamas is overwhelmingly positive, and too many people have drank the Kool-Aid.
As I explained, my complaint was not about fashion itself. The display of disrespect (whether intentional or unintentional) at a posthumous Medal of Honor ceremony, and the biased media were the topics of the original post. The fact that the source of disrespect was Michelle Obama's dress is irrelevant.
You're either having trouble with comprehension, or purposely taking things out of context.

What should she have worn? Hmmm...Perhaps something more formal. The other attendees seemed to understand. I suppose she's special. Maybe she didn't get the memo? A short, low cut, eccentric dress lacking sleeves was probably not the best choice. I suppose a bikini would have also been acceptable?

I have discussed this same matter with plenty of other veterans, and most of them have been equally disgusted.

And yes, I acknowledged that I actually laughed a bit when I put the shoe on the other foot and examined my first post. The humor actually arises when you fail to read the entire post and/or take things out of context. You seem to be good at that.

Don't worry, I don't expect you to understand, mate.

Originally Posted by Vance

For what it's worth I think you deserve a purple-heart for the sand you obviously got in your vagina while watching the Medal of Honor ceremony on Fox.

Lol. That's what you had to resort to, huh? Come on, you can do better than that.

I really don't care about networks or party affiliation. I watched the ceremony out of respect. Don't worry, I don't expect you to understand that, either.

Speaking of irony, it's funny that so much sand made its way in to your vagina when you read my post.

EXACTLY the same thing? I didn't complain about "obsession with fashion" as you put it. Let's not be manipulative. I did bring up the fact that the media promotes "Obamamania." I don't care what the Obamas eat, read, like, dislike, etc. The vast majority of the coverage concerning the Obamas is overwhelmingly positive, and too many people have drank the Kool-Aid.
As I explained, my complaint was not about fashion itself. The display of disrespect (whether intentional or unintentional) at a posthumous Medal of Honor ceremony, and the biased media were the topics of the original post. The fact that the source of disrespect was Michelle Obama's dress is irrelevant.
You're either having trouble with comprehension, or purposely taking things out of context.

What should she have worn? Hmmm...Perhaps something more formal. The other attendees seemed to understand. I suppose she's special. Maybe she didn't get the memo? A short, low cut, eccentric dress lacking sleeves was probably not the best choice. I suppose a bikini would have also been acceptable?

I have discussed this same matter with plenty of other veterans, and most of them have been equally disgusted.

And yes, I acknowledged that I actually laughed a bit when I put the shoe on the other foot and examined my first post. The humor actually arises when you fail to read the entire post and/or take things out of context. You seem to be good at that.

Don't worry, I don't expect you to understand, mate.

Lol. That's what you had to resort to, huh? Come on, you can do better than that.

I really don't care about networks or party affiliation. I watched the ceremony out of respect. Don't worry, I don't expect you to understand that, either.

Speaking of irony, it's funny that so much sand made its way in to your vagina when you read my post.

Happy to agree to disagree with you simmons.

In my experience with the (British & Australian) military myself nor anyone else on our team would've had issue with Obama's dress - to be frank I couldn't care less. I'd have seen the media coverage which focused on it as being the thing that was disrespectful.

Perhaps it's an American thing and I won't be able to comprehend it (Though the fact that only "most" of the veterans you've spoken to were disgusted says maybe not) but I'd appreciate it if you dropped the pretense of being the only guy in the discussion with military experience. I do however see the fashion/Obamamania arguement around an event like this as taking away from the point of the ceremony itself and as such it's not too long a bow to draw to say that the discussion the media has perpetuated around this issue is the disrespectful thing and the dress has exactly FA to do with it.

Would be interested to hear what some other military guys from the US thought on the issue.

I think half the problem with the media in America is that broadly speaking it seems to be extremely partisan in nature. It's hard to get any balanced coverage on anything in the US anymore. It's either one side of the fence or it's the other. Therefore I think the assertion that the coverage of Obama has been roundly positive isn't necessarily true unless you're talking about the international media.

I think the only one who consistently makes any sense in the US media is John Stewart, and that's scary.

You can interpret this article many ways, but I see it as a way to promote healthy foods instead of the pesticide-laced products that are in every grocery store around the country. As for the excesses, that goes with being in the White House. Laura Bush did the exact same kinds of things.

In my experience with the (British & Australian) military myself nor anyone else on our team would've had issue with Obama's dress - to be frank I couldn't care less. I'd have seen the media coverage which focused on it as being the thing that was disrespectful.

Perhaps it's an American thing and I won't be able to comprehend it (Though the fact that only "most" of the veterans you've spoken to were disgusted says maybe not) but I'd appreciate it if you dropped the pretense of being the only guy in the discussion with military experience. I do however see the fashion/Obamamania arguement around an event like this as taking away from the point of the ceremony itself and as such it's not too long a bow to draw to say that the discussion the media has perpetuated around this issue is the disrespectful thing and the dress has exactly FA to do with it.

Would be interested to hear what some other military guys from the US thought on the issue.

I think half the problem with the media in America is that broadly speaking it seems to be extremely partisan in nature. It's hard to get any balanced coverage on anything in the US anymore. It's either one side of the fence or it's the other. Therefore I think the assertion that the coverage of Obama has been roundly positive isn't necessarily true unless you're talking about the international media.

I think the only one who consistently makes any sense in the US media is John Stewart, and that's scary.

I really wasn't trying to imply that I was the only person in this discussion with any military experience. If that's how I came off, then I apologize. I hate when people constantly pull that card, and I rarely make mention of it in discussions like this.
I respect your experience as well.

Honestly, I'm pretty tired of listening to politicians in general. I think some serious changes need to take place within our government.
As for the news coverage lacking balance, I agree with you.

It was a joke, but that may have been lost. I'm not going to elaborate much further, and will only say you were complaining about the media toiling in the minutia of "Obamaness"; and then, as a grown man, on a bodybuilding board, you complained about a dress Michelle Obama wore. If you can't appreciate good irony when you see it, then your problems are greater than this thread!

More importantly and to the point, who the hell voluntarily eats kale? That's famine food, as in I have two choices, boil my foot for soup or eat kale. Which would require some consideration on my part.

I agreee with Simmons' POV on the subject. I think the media has ran so much on her fashion that when a situation happens that would usually warrant a subtle dress code, she'll still wear something flashy to keep the coverage coming to show her as a 'young, tone and fashionable woman.

It was inappropriate attire for a MoH ceremony. Not going to lose any sleep over the situation but it is what it is.

I agreee with Simmons' POV on the subject. I think the media has ran so much on her fashion that when a situation happens that would usually warrant a subtle dress code, she'll still wear something flashy to keep the coverage coming to show her as a 'young, tone and fashionable woman.

It was inappropriate attire for a MoH ceremony. Not going to lose any sleep over the situation but it is what it is.